Black Jack
Introduction One of the great mysteries of the Grand Line, the identity of Black Jack is one which provides much discussion in all levels of society from taven corners to the Marines. Nobody knows who he is or where he comes from. One thing is for sure and that is he hates pirates! The only clue to Black Jack's existance is the trail of bodies he leaves behind. Some say he is a former pirate turning on his former comrades to gain forgiveness for past crimes. Others claim he is a former member of CP9 now working freelance. Others claim he still works for them posing as a free agent in order to do the tasks that can't be done any other way. One thing is for sure. He is real and he may be coming for you.﻿ Appearance He never seen in anything but black. Mostly he is seen wearing a long black coat with deep pockets for all the various weapons and tools he might require.Underneath he wears a tight black shirt and black trousers with a heavy silver buckled belt in the shape of a raven with rubies for eyes which are said to be the last thing many of his targets see. Descriptions of his physical appearance vary but the general concensus is that he is tall with dark hair and eyes. Whether this is due to so few surviving witnesses or shock is not known. Personality Stories of The Bloody Blade are found throughout the Grand Line. Many of them are conflicted. They speak of a man who can commit the most extreme acts of violence but at the same time incredible acts of kindness.One such story speaks of a small island which was being terrorised by the pirates. The pirates outnumbered those who lived on the island almost 5 to 1. One night a bar on this island was visited by a man all in black carrying a sword. He ate a meal, thanked the owners and left. The next morning the owners were shocked to discover that when the opened the door they found a massive pile of treasure outside their bar. Upon further investigation they discovered all the pirates on their island were dead and their ships burned. Many were still in bed with their throats slit with no sign of a struggle. Some were killed where they stood while others had just disappeared. All had been killed with no sign of a struggle. To this day they islanders both praise and live in fear of their mysterious saviour. The man who committed this act should be feared indeed. Abilities and Powers Swordsmanship Swords appear to be the Jack's weapon of choice. Many of his victims appear to be covered in many cuts and most appear to be missing limbs or even heads. This shows a high level of proficiany with the sword. Marksmanship Several kills attributed to Jack have been killed with a ranged weapon. But it is not known whether these really were killed by Jack or by others just claiming to be him. It is thought that they were fakes however as the few witnesses who claim to have seen him describe him as only using bladed weapons. Hand to Hand Combat Knowledge of this sketchy at best but it is claimed by certain members of the criminal underworld who were interrogated by Cipher Pol that Black Jack can move faster than the eye can see and take attacks that would defeat the toughest pirate. It can be infered from this that Jack knows several techniques of the Rokushiki style or possibly a high level of skill with Haki techniques. It is also claimed that Jack uses some previously unknown sword style but this cannot be proved. Whatever the truth however what is known is that Jack is a dangerous and formidable opponent. Physical Strength Jack appears to be above average strength but with no special abilities. This is probably due to his combat skills and his profession Agility Jack appears to be able to move at faster than the eye can see speeds. One witness reports that they saw him appear on the other side of a large room a second or two after he entered through the door on the other side of the room. This may be due to Soru but such speed is believed to be impossible even using this technique. Endurance Jack's level of endurance is not known but it is believed that is is higher than average due to the nature of his work. This is due to the fact that there is no documented case of Jack getting injured. Weapons Mutiple eyewitnesses that have seen the Jack's have reported he carried a twin bladed staff which he uses to great effect. One witness said he carved his through an entire crowd of pirates as if he was not really there. It is rumored he also wields a katana which is one of the Saijo O Wazamono but whether this is true is unknown. One of Jack's victims however the pirate Captain Jack Crawhawk was known to wield a Wazamono known as the Black's Dragon's Claw. The sword was never recovered so this may be the source of the rumor. Milhawk states that when he fought Jack the man was carrying the sword but since there is only his eyewitness account this cannot be proved 100%. Oto Oto Fruit One of the things that is known about Black Jack is that he stole a devil fruit from the marines. A legend about Black Jack states that early in his career there was once a shipwreck from which the marines recovered an unsual Devil Fruit. Placing the Devil Fruit on a ship the marines set sail for headquarters where the fruit could be studied further. The ship never arrived and was later found drifting near to Water 7. When the ship was boarded it was discovered that the crew had been killed and the fruit stolen. Only one survivor was found but they later died of their wounds. Before they died however they were able to describe a young man dressed all in black wielding a staff. The attack was later linked by the marines to Black Jack after he became more widely known. The Oto Oto Fruit as it is known is believed to give its wielder sound based abilities. It is thought that is a Logia fruit but this can't be proved. Jack has demonstrated that he can move at what appears to be the speed of sound and this could explain how he has never been caught and why he can defeat large groups of pirates in seconds. There have also been stories of Jack passing through solid objects which also lend credance to the Devil Fruit story. It has also been claimed by survivors that Jack moves without a sound. Haki Several of Jack's victims were Logia users so it can be infered from this that he can use Busoshoku Haki in order to cause damage to them. Also the fact he appears never to take damage could mean he uses Kenbunshoku Haki as well in order to predict his enemies moves and defend himself. History Early Years Much of Jack's life remains a mystery. His early years in particular are a mystery. There are two rumors about Jack which seem to describe his early years but no-one is sure which is his true origin. The first one speaks of a family of assassins which have worked for the World Nobles for centuries secretly removing any obstacles to which ever family pays the most.The family works in the shadows always working through intermediaries to deal with their clients but the actual assassination would be done by a member of the family. Each member is said to be an expert in a different technique from poisons to blades and many others. It is said that this was the environment in which Jack was raised from birth. Jack is supposed to have killed his first man when he was 4 years old. However when he was ten something happened. It is said the Nobles were worried that the family was gaining too much power and to this end the Nobles hatched a plan with the help of the Marines. After much research and intelligence gathering the Marines with the help of several CP branches raided the family's stongholds killing or capturing all the members apart from one. Jack was on a mission that day and returned to find the only home he had ever known burnt down and bodies scattered all around. Jack is then said to have then lost his mind for a time. Overcome by anger and grief he slaughtered every Marine left at the compound. Afterward that Jack disappeared. This is but one story of his origins but this is not widely accepted as it does not fit in with the known facts. While it is true Jack has defeated several corrupt marines his main targets appear to be pirates not marines which if this story was true would be the target of his hatred. The other origin rumor is more widely believed. It is said that Jack comes from a small island somewhere in the Grand LIne. The island was a major port on the Line therefore many pirates stopped off there on their way to the new world. Jack's family were said to be one of the richest families on the island and therefore were constantly targeted by pirates who wanted their gold. However the family also contained several of the strongest fighters on the island and therefore the pirates always lost until the day an unknown crew arrived. They promptly defeated all the other pirate crews on the island declaring their intention to take control of the island. Jack's family decided to fight the new crew to protect their island but they were just too strong and his entire family was killed.Jack who was only ten years old was forced to ran away. What happened next is unknown but the pirates began to be hampered by a group of freedom fighters supposedly led a young boy. They burnt the pirates ships, stole their supplies and generally stopped them at every turn. Eventually the pirates were defeated when the people of the island with the help of the marines rose up and kicked them off the island. Jack then disappeared. It is said he vowed to free other people from the threat of piracy and would single-handedly end the new age of pirates and so began Jack's crusade against pirates as their most hated enemy. Devil Fruit and Thunder Whatever his origins what is known is that Jack's target of choice are pirates. He tends to target those who have committed serious crimes against the general public or those who abuse their power or status in some way. Jack prefers to kill his targets outright but it is not unusual for pirates to turn up mortally wounded at marine outposts or those who have posted the bounties with instructions pinned to them on where to send the money. Only a few crimes have been sucessfuly linked to Black Jack but many others are thought by the Marines to have been committed by Jack. The first major crime successfuly linked to him as discussed above was the theft of the Oto Oto Fruit from the Marines. This was only later linked to him after he became more infamous in the Grand Line. The first kill linked to him was the death of Captain Jack Crawhawk and his Thunder Demon Pirates. The legend goes that Crawhawk and his crew had stopped off on a small deserted island. The crew decided to have a party as they believed themselves reasonably safe. Several went off to explore the island and try and find some food. The came back several hours later dragging the large carcass of an unknown animal and the seemingly unconscious form of a young man with them. From the diaries of the crew members (which were found after they were killed) they found the young man dressed in black fishing on the other side of the island. Upon approaching him the discovered he was asleep. The crew who found him decided to take him back to their ship so their captain could question him. They then sneaked up on him, knocked him unconscious and tied him up. Several hours later the man had yet to regain consciousness so Crawhawk decided to leave him tied and locked up onboard the ship until the morning when he could question him. As the party was getting into full swing the crew suddenly heard a noise like cannonfire. Thinking they were under attack they tried to board their ship but they were stopped suddenly when they saw at the top of the gang-plank the young man they had tied up earlier holding a sword. He then proceded to cut down the first few crew members who reached the top of the plank. As the other men raced for their weapons and equipment they were cut down by an invisible force. Realising the man must have a devil fruit ability Crawhawk prepared to confront the "man in black" who had just appeared in the middle of the pirate camp which had been set up for the party. Crawhawk bellowed in rage and tried to strike at his attacker with his supia-supia abilty producing spears from his hands which propelled themselves at superhuman speeds towards the young man. Suddenly he wasn't there anymore. Jack whirled around seeing the enemy standing by the ship. Letting out another bellow of rage Crawhawk prepared his most powerful attack as a massive harpoon like spear shot from his chest. The man in black didn't even flinch and moving at superhuman speed cut the spear in two breaking his sword in the process. The two enemies faced each other. Each one was now weaponless but Crawhawk still had his devil fruit ability. Suddenly the ground began to shake and a shockwave began to roll towards Crawhawk. He managed to dodge it by producing a spear from his back which propelled him into in the air. He was then hit by a blast of intense noise which knocked him back down to the ground. The soundwave continued to force Crawhawk into the ground pinning him in place. The force increased eventually crushing Crawhawk breaking all his bones and destroying his organs instantly. The man in black then turned his attention to the crew some of who had managed to get the ship underway and were desperately trying to get away. According to the messages left behind the yound man took a deep breath of air and then shouted. The force of the sound smashed into the boat punching a hole in one side and out the other immediately sinking the ship. The killer then turned around and then for the next few hours hunted down and killed any crew members left on the island. This is the reason why the Marines have such a detailed description of what happened on the island. In his last few hours one of the crew members while he was hiding decided to write down everything that had happened so that people would know how they died. The messages were later found on his dead body which was impaled on the remains of a tree. Thanks to these descriptions of the man and his ability the Marines were able to link this slaughter to the infamous Black Jack. Sucesses and Failures Not all of Jack's attempts to kill pirates have been successes but he has in the past managed to escape from pirates who would have killed the assassin. There events are few in number but it does show that the man is not invincible. The first such story comes from his attempt to defeat the then up and coming crew known as The Spade Pirates and their leader Portgas D Ace. The story goes that just after Ace's arrival in the New World he and his crew were searching for Whitebeard when they came across a seemingly abandoned ship. Ace thought the ship was a trap so he wanted to burn the ship before they could in trouble but his crew advised him against this as they were short of supplies and thought that their and the captains power was enough to escape from any trap. Ace agreed reluctuntly and they boarded the ship. They found the ship completely empty. Suddenly while they were below decks there was smashing sound followed by screams from the crew still above decks. Ace and the rest of the crew rushed onto the deck to find his men collapsed on the deck of the ship each one horribly injured but alive. Standing on the upper deck was a young man dressed in black with a staff and katana strapped to his back. Ace then asked him if he was Black Jack to which the man nodded once. Ace then claims in the tale that Jack then took the katana from his back which he then pointed at Ace. This was a challenge. Ace then ordered his men to pick up the wounded and take them to his ship. Using his signature "fire fist" attack Ace attempted to end the fight quickly but before it could reach Jack it was blown apart. Jack then disappeared attempting to get behind Ace but suddenly a ring of fire lept up around Ace which protected him from the sword. The two continued to battle for several more minutes which each advantage sort by Black Jack defeated by Ace's abilities and vice versa. The ship was now on fire and the two of them were concious of the limited time they had to end the fight. Eventually the two of them ended up on the upper deck of the ship facing each other. Ace began preparing a new "fire fist" attack but at the last minute Jack dodged and and Ace's attack blew away the masts of the abandoned ship. Ace then saw Jack standing on the railings. The young man gave Ace what looked like a nod of acknowledgement and then proceeded to jump overboard. Ace tried to rush to the railings but it was too late. He looked over the side but there was no-one there. Ace was forced to admit defeat and rushed to his ship before the fire reached them as well. That was the last time Ace ever saw Black Jack. It is now thought that it was a way for Jack to test his new abilities and not an official capture or kill. It is also believed that at this point in Jack's career that he did not have any Haki abilities which is why he could not defeat Ace and only neutralise him. Another well recorded defeat was against "Hawk-Eyes" which took place just before the Battle of Marinesford. According Milhawk's own words he was travelling to Marinesford for the battle when he challenged by a young man dressed in black. Hawk-Eyes says that this was not that unusual. he was challenged on a regular basis mostly by those who should know better. But he says there was something about this "boy" as he described him that caught his interest. On his belt he carried two swords one of which Milhawk says was a Saijo O Wazamono known as the "Black Dragon's Claw". He says he agreed to fight the man based purely on this fact. Milhawk claims he then immediately struck at Milhawk with his sword. Milhawk just managed to get his blade up in time. His opponent moved at superhuman speeds but Hawk-Eyes now believes the boy was holding back as if he wanted to test himself. Milhawk fought him for almost ten minutes but the young man broke it off suddenly when spotted a marine patrol which had been sent out to investigate the sounds of battle coming from that area. By unspoken agreement the two stopped midfight. Just as the boy began to leave Milhawk askedhim his name. He replied simply "Jack" and then disappeared. Again this seems to be an example of Jack testing himself against difficult opponents. What this says about him is not clear but it is believed that Jack likes to test himself constantly which is one of the reasons he became a bounty hunter and assassin. However these are but minor blips in a extremely sucessful career. Only 15 kills have ever been successfuly linked to Black Jack but the Marines believe that he could be responsible for almost two hundred more. However with the lack of evidence or witnesses the Marines are kept guessing what the actual number might be. His most successful and some would say infamous attack was on the Giant Pirates. The group actually consisted of several pirate crews which had banded together for protection. The name actually came from the size of the group and not the fact they were giants (which was a story the pirates themselves spread in order to create fear and confusion). The numbers of pirates varyed from 80 to 200 due to rumors and misinformation that was spread about. They ruled over several islands in the Grand Line and were renowned for their violent nature and the repressive way they treated those who lived on the islands they ruled. The story goes that several of the supply and treasure ships which regularly travelled between the islands had been attacked or disappeared. The various pirate captains all blamed each other for the attacks and there were a few skirmishes and mysterious deaths before it was realised that none of them were responsible. In order to decide what was to be done about this the captains and crews all decided to meet. Therefore several days after the last attack the crews all met on the largest island they controlled. That first night the pirates all got drunk and the various island dwellers locked their doors for fear of what might happen. The next morning however none of the pirates were to be found. Their ships and various campsites were still intact but were empty with no sign of a struggle. The remaining island dwellers searched the whole island but there was no sign of them. Eventually several of the bravest residents decided to go aboard the ships and see if there was any sign there. What they found there terrified them and they came rushing back onto shore screaming. The crew's dead bodies were all dumped in the hold with only two words painted on the walls "Black Jack". Everyone of them bearing the signs of violent attack. Only two members of the crew had survived. Despite the hideous injuries they had suffered they spoke of a young man wielding a sword who seemed to disappear and reappear at will cutting every pirate down.The Marines were summoned but they could not find any sign of whoever had commited this terrible crime except the words "Black Jack". This was said to be Jack's first major success in his war on pirates and it was feared what he might attempt to do in the future If this what he does for his opening act he thought what might he attempt in the future? Jack has not only attacked pirates however. He has fough many opponents in his career including several corrupt marines.They range from those who abuse their power and authority to those who have deserted thier posts and taken up a life of crime. Jack has collected more bounties on these kinds of criminasl than on many others such as pirates and revolutionaries as criminal marines thend to have higher bounties than others. This may be due to the fact the Marines and World Government are embarrassed by their former collegues and wish them caught. Either way Jack appears to go out of his way to keep these kinds of criminals alive so he can claim the bounty. Another theroy put forward is that he keeps them alive so they can embarrass the authorities by showing them their failures but what the reason is for this is not known. After Marinesford With the death of Whitebeard and the chaos which appeared afterwards there was a lot of work for Black Jack but it appears that for a year after the events he actually had scaled back his activities. There were almost no reports of attacks that match his MO. No-one is sure why this is but this appears to have been the calm before the storm. After a years silence Jack appears to be back with a vengence taking down four 2000000+ beli crews and their captains in less than three months. Two of those crews contained Logia users which probably means Jack has in his time off has learnt how to use Haki but this is just speculation. One thing is for sure Jack is back with a vengeance and nobody is safe. Major Battles Black Jack VS Captain Jack Crawhawk (WON) Black Jack VS The Thunder Demon Pirates (WON) Black Jack VS Spade Pirates (DRAW) Black Jack VS Ace (LOSE) Black Jack VS Hawk Eyes (DRAW) Black Jack VS Giant Pirates (WIN) Related Articles Oto Oto no Mi Jack Crawhawk Category:Assassin Category:Swordsmen Category:Bounty Hunter Category:Logia Devil Fruit User Category:Weapon Wielder Category:GrandiaKnight Category:Busoshoku Haki User Category:Kenbunshoku Haki User